Kevin Phaup, who is pursuing a master’s degree in industrial design, went to Nepal last summer to conduct research for his thesis project—designing stronger, safer, cost-effective temporary shelters for refugees and victims of natural disasters. While there, he worked with Hope for Nepal, an organization co-founded by Assistant Professor Ann-Marie Conrado, to construct temporary shelters, permanent homes, and schools after an April 2015 earthquake that killed more than 8,000 people and displaced more than 3 million.

For married couples, the odds aren’t good when one partner has anxiety or depression. The presence of such a mental issue significantly increases the risk that the couple will get divorced. Notre Dame psychology Ph.D. student Judith Biesen wants to find a way to improve the outcomes for those couples. With an American Dream grant from the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, Biesen is completing a longitudinal study of mental health—specifically, anxiety disorders and depression—and how it relates to marital functioning and satisfaction with the relationship.

A new interdisciplinary fellowship program launched by the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Educational Initiatives will train graduate students in state-of-the-art quantitative methods, allowing them to examine the impact of educational policies, programs, and practices. Beginning in fall 2016, the Rev. James A. Burns Fellowship is open to prospective students applying to Ph.D. programs in economics, political science, psychology, and sociology who plan to pursue educational research.

After adapting his award-winning documentary On the Bridge into a graphic novel that both portrayed stories of veterans and offered a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Olivier Morel’s emotions and struggles as he interviewed them, the FTT assistant professor was inspired to create an undergraduate course. In Graphic Wounds, Graphic Novels, in-depth readings and discussions with some of the genre’s leading authors revealed how trauma and recovery are depicted in nonfiction graphic novels.

A new beginning in Crested Butte, Colorado. A carnivorous plant on Skid Row. A chance meeting in a Moscow cafe. And, a fresh look at Jane Austen’s beloved Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. The 2015-16 theatre season of the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre offers four distinctly different productions—Wildflower, Little Shop of Horrors, The Bear and Afterplay, and Pride and Prejudice—which together make this season one not to be missed.

Continuing to strengthen cultural ties with scholars and alumni in Asia, three faculty members from Notre Dame’s Department of Music will depart on Tuesday, October 13, for Seoul, Beijing, and Hong Kong. During the 12-day tour, they will present concerts and lectures at leading universities and cultural institutions, including the Asia Society in Hong Kong. Building on the success of their previous visits, their outreach has expanded from universities to more broadly based cultural institutions as well—such as last year’s recital at the Beijing Capital Library, in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy, and their upcoming appearance at the Asia Society.

Two years and nine months. That’s how long it took Army Maj. Carl Wojtaszek to complete his Ph.D. in Notre Dame’s Department of Economics—a little more than half the typical time. An assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point since 2008, Wojtaszek received a prestigious, yet finite, award from the Army—full funding to pursue his advanced degree, but a three-year time limit to complete it.

Notre Dame psychologist Darcia Narvaez has received the 2015 William James Book Award from the American Psychological Association for her latest book, Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture and Wisdom. The award recognizes a recent book that attempts to bring together diverse subfields of psychology and related disciplines and demonstrates an essential underlying set of themes that serve to unify or integrate the field.

Two recent Notre Dame graduates are tackling global health issues with support from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. French and Francophone studies major Claire Donovan will work with UNICEF in Togo to examine women’s adherence to micronutrient supplement programs. Christina Gutierrez, who majored in Romance languages and literatures and political science, will pursue a master’s degree at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy and conduct research on and pilot a food co-op concept there.

A team of researchers in Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters has been awarded a $3.1 million grant from the Templeton Religion Trust to examine how the concrete practices of science relate to something more abstract—what theologians and philosophers consider “virtues”—and how that connects with other areas of scientists’ lives, including their religious beliefs. The endeavor is a key component of Notre Dame’s new Center for Theology, Science, and Human Flourishing, which will serve as a hub for transdisciplinary research at the University.

With a $1.8 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, two Notre Dame professors will co-direct the Human Distinctiveness Project, seeking to advance research at the intersection of theology and evolutionary anthropology. The three-year project will support training for theologians in evolutionary and archaeological anthropology, as well as research on the evolution of wisdom.

English major Austin Hagwood ’15 doesn’t dream small. He took a train past the Arctic Circle to meet the only living Finnish rune singer. He interned in Paris at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. He taught English courses at Al-Azhar University in Egypt. He ventured to New Zealand to research Maori folklore and literature. And that’s not all.

Robert Sedlack, associate professor of visual communication design in Notre Dame’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design, has been named the winner of the 2015 Sheedy Excellence in Teaching Award. The Sheedy award presentation will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6, in the McKenna Hall auditorium. It is open to all faculty and students.

Two faculty members from Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters—Laura Dassow Walls and Sophie White—have been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for 2015. The fellowships continue the University’s record success with the NEH. Since 1999, Arts and Letters faculty members have been awarded 53 total NEH grants—more than any other university in the country.

Is physical activity a factor in how friendships are formed? Do social circles influence a person’s health and fitness choices? A team of Notre Dame researchers hopes to explore those questions with the help of smartphone apps and wearable technology devices. Faculty members in the University’s Interdisciplinary Center for Network Science and Applications (iCeNSA) have been awarded a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the relationship between social networks and health-related behaviors.

Sophie White, associate professor in the Department of American Studies, has received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)—her second NEH award in five years—for her book project, Voices of the African Diaspora Within and Beyond the Atlantic World. As one of two winners from Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters for 2015, White continues the University’s record success in earning NEH fellowships. Arts and Letters faculty members have been awarded a total of 53 NEH fellowships since 1999—more than any other university in the country.

Laura Dassow Walls, the William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of English, has been awarded a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to complete a biography of Henry David Thoreau. A renowned scholar of American transcendentalism, Walls began working on the book with the support of a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship during the 2010-11 academic year. She plans to publish the book to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Thoreau’s birth in 2017.

In fall 2015, the College of Arts and Letters will launch a new Collaborative Innovation program that focuses on the principles of design thinking—a powerful approach for solving real-world problems. “A dynamic, iterative, and deeply human process, design thinking prepares students for the type of collaborative, cross-disciplinary work they will encounter after graduation, no matter what career paths they pursue,” said Richard Gray, chair of the Department of Art, Art History, and Design, which will be home to the new program.

From the University of Oxford to Michigan State University to University College Dublin, recent graduates of Notre Dame’s Ph.D. program in political science are landing choice positions, even in a competitive job market.

Anthropologist Deb Rotman, Paul and Maureen Stefanick Faculty Director of Notre Dame’s Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE), has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award for the 2015-16 academic year. Rotman will spend the year in Ireland, collaborating with University College Dublin and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology on her project, “Clachans and Cultural Landscapes of County Mayo, Ireland: Local History, Folklore, and Archaeology of 19th-Century Domestic Sites.”

Thomas Tweed, the W. Harold and Martha Welch Professor of American Studies and professor of history in Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters, was elected to lead the American Academy of Religion. He is currently serving as president in 2015. Tweed is a faculty fellow in the University’s Institute for Latino Studies and Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.

Maria Rogacheva, who received her Ph.D. from Notre Dame’s Department of History in 2013, has been awarded the 2014 Robert C. Tucker/Stephen F. Cohen Dissertation Prize from the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES).

Can mainstream movies affect our political views? Two Ph.D. candidates in Notre Dame’s Department of Political Science say the answer is yes. Todd Adkins and Jeremy Castle published the results of their research in an article in Social Science Quarterly, titled “Moving Pictures? Experimental Evidence of Cinematic Influence on Political Attitudes.”

The University of Notre Dame’s Department of Political Science has been named one of the top 10 undergraduate programs in political science nationwide, according to a list developed by College Factual. “The ranking is exciting for us,” said Michael Desch, professor and chair of the department. “It is always good to get this sort of external validation.”

Two psychologists in Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters—Associate Professor Ying “Alison” Cheng and Assistant Professor Jill Lany—received Early Career Development (CAREER) Awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2014.
These awards, which include five years of support to the faculty members, add to the recent success of the Department of Psychology.

The latest faculty hires in Notre Dame’s Department of Political Science bring expertise in the fields of Latino and American politics. Luis Ricardo Fraga, a heralded scholar and pioneer in the study of Latino politics, has been named the Arthur Foundation Endowed Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership in the Institute of Latino Studies (ILS) and a professor in the Department of Political Science. Gary E. Hollibaugh, Jr., whose research focuses on American political institutions, joined the department this year as an assistant professor.

The College of Arts and Letters will launch an interdisciplinary minor in Computing and Digital Technologies (CDT) starting in the fall of 2015. The CDT minor will offer a foundation for Arts and Letters students interested in all facets of technology—from technology consulting and cyber security to the digital arts and humanities. “One of the most exciting aspects of this program is that it was designed from the beginning with input from Arts and Letters alumni who are now leaders in the technology industry,” said Charles Crowell, associate professor of psychology and director of the program.

The Catholic Church in Africa is growing at an annual rate of over 3 percent. Given the largely Eurocentric nature of moral theology in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, what will it take to invest the theological community in the history and moral challenges of the Church in other parts of the world, especially Africa? What is to be gained for the whole Church when this happens in a deep and lasting way? These are some of the questions Notre Dame Associate Professor Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor, C.S.Sp., explores in his latest work, Morality Truly Christian, Truly African: Foundational, Methodological, and Theological Considerations.

John Sitter, the Mary Lee Duda Professor of Literature in Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters, was presented with the 2014 Sheedy Excellence in Teaching Award on December 2. The Sheedy award is the highest teaching honor in the College. It was founded in 1970 in honor of Rev. Charles E. Sheedy, C.S.C., who served as dean of Arts and Letters from 1951–69.

David Morris, a Ph.D. candidate in Notre Dame’s Department of History, has been awarded a prestigious Samuel H. Kress Rome Prize fellowship in medieval studies by the American Academy in Rome for the 2014-15 academic year. Established in 1896, the Rome Prize is awarded annually to approximately 30 emerging artists and scholars who represent the “highest standard of excellence in the arts and humanities.”